What Role Can AI Play in 340B?

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic in 2024. Discussions about AI in health care continue to grow, including about the potential for such technology to improve care and save lives. What role might AI play in the 340B world? We speak with WVU Medicine Enterprise 340B Program Coordinator Elizabeth Gibson to learn how one health system is exploring this potential.

What Can a 340B “Bot” Do?

Gibson’s team uses artificial intelligence to improve its 340B internal auditing processes. What they call “the bot” can streamline the process by pulling data from the health system’s electronic medical records system and automating the administrative tasks required to set up an audit. The bot also can make the process more effective by increasing the number of audited claims and flagging potential problem areas. She noted this makes the team more prepared for the data they must collect for external 340B audits as well.

Lessons Learned During Implementation

Gibson said installing the bot for 340B use was a very “trial and error” approach, though the team was able to make quick changes to fix any issues they encountered. She said one of the biggest growing pains of the AI-based system was the time needed to make the tool operational. She also notes the bot may be clunkier than a product they would have purchased through an outside vendor because it is designed to allow the team to customize and modify as needed.

Opening Eyes to the Benefits of Automation

Gibson said this new tool has led to her team re-evaluating other 340B processes that they can automate, even if that does not involve AI. WVU also is considering potential bots that will look specifically at Medicaid claims and help conduct retail audits. She urged health systems to consider the concept of automation more broadly than AI, bots, and machine learning, as collaborating with other departments that can share automation skills could help improve overall 340B processes.